Today's News

During my time in Washington, I have been a strong supporter of Social Security and Medicare because they represent a promise made by our country to ensure basic security and dignity for our seniors. It says something important about our country when we commit to protecting those who have spent a lifetime working and making our country great.

We all know the essential dynamics of this mid-term election: continued high unemployment; a loud movement on the right that calls itself “the tea party;” and a president vilified by conservatives, and whose agenda is not even understood by some of his supporters.

Four years ago, when Democrats retook control of Congress, the mid-term election turnout hit about 50 percent in Bedford, while the Presidential election of 2008 brought out a 75 percent turnout. That’s when Fifth District Congressman Tom Perriello was elected, usurping the once-thought-to-be-unbeatable Virgil Goode.

Getting a lay-off notice can be the nudge a person needs to make a positive change.

Carol Patterson, a Bedford County native, had worked as an administrative assistant and executive assistant for 30 years. She had been wanting to do something more fulfilling and had thought about massage therapy for a year. Leaving the security of an existing job, however, kept her from doing anything beyond thinking. Then, her job was eliminated and, with job security gone, she “ took a leap of faith.”